Inspiron 17R SE 900p or 1080p screen

I am looking at purchasing a Inspiron 17R SE but can't decide on which screen, 900p or 1080p would best suite my needs.

I am not into gaming or playing videos on the laptop but do a bit of photo editing. It's main use will be general e-mails, web searching and other text based work a letter writing etc.

I want to have the best resolution but am concerned that the font size of text with a 1080p screen will be too small resulting in the resolution being reduced which would a waste of time having the 1080 screen in the first place.

I am not in a position to be able to compare the 900p and 1080p screens in use so would appreciate comments/advice from anybody who has perhaps had experience?

How much smaller would the normal text be on a 1080p screen compared to a 900p or would a 1080p screen be wasted if you were not playing games or watching videos?

 

The main reason to pick the 1080p screen is that in general they are much better. Better black levels, better contrast, better color display. In general most 900p displays are produced as cheap as possible (there are exceptions though) an lack in all those areas.

For photo editing the 1080p might be beneficial due to the better image quality.
You can set scaling in windows to get larger text, and in web browsers you could just zoom in to get bigger text if not satisfied etc, Only in some programs could the smaller text be an issue - none comes to my mind right now but I'm sure there are some.

 

i purchased the 17R SE a couple of months ago with the 900p screen
there was always something off about the screen, even friends noticed.
it was hard to put my finger on, bad contrast? too blue? bad viewing angles...just looked off or sub-par, even when compared to screens that are over four years old.
i dealt with it for a good couple of months, till i couldn't take it anymore..
Dell screen replaced the screen with another 900p, looked slightly better, but really was similar
i was able to load up an .icc profile which helped, but didn't seem to help much with the bad viewing angles, always had to try to find the sweet spot
just today Dell replaced my screen again, i noted
1600x900/HD+ Glossy/TrueLife AU Optronics AUO159E B173RW01 V.5
replaced with a
1920x1080/FullHD Matte/Anti-Glare LG-Philips LGD02DA LP173WF1(TL)(B3)
& the difference is night & day: sharper, much better colors, & incredible viewing angles! no fancy .icc profiles required.

point is, save yourself the trouble and go with a 1080p
it would seem that the 900p screens being used are sub-par.

for more details, link

 

Thanks for the reply and your experience with the 900p.

I currently have a 4 yr old Studio 17 with a 900p screen and agree about the viewing angle but happy with the text size.

In going from the from the 900p to the 1080p screen with matte finish how have you noticed the text size? Have they become noticeable smaller and have you lost some of the richness in the colour by going from a glossy screen to a matte screen?

 

Would you mind sharing how you got Dell to replace the your old 900p screen with the 1080p?

 

yes, there is a significant difference in text size, websites, etc. if someone doesn't post pics on the other thread, i will for you.
colors, quite the opposite! 10x richer color on the matte screen, keep in mind that perhaps the quality of the 900p glossy screen was subpar

to be honest, i doubt they will do it for everyone. they did me a huge favor...maybe they liked me?
it took a total of three call sessions within two weeks, lots of explaining, story-telling, picture emailing, links to reviews, videos, etc.
you have to have the right tone, balance of eloquence & frustration, wishing the best for Dell as a company, etc.
if i had to do it again, i prolly wouldn't & rather purchase the screen on ebay for $80.

 

Thank you for the insight. I do agree the right tone will help, but it also depends on the rep. I'm glad it worked out well for you. Though $80 isn't a bad upgrade for the screen, I'm scared to do it myself.

Also thanks a lot for your post on Dell forum. It's very informative and could be useful for future reference.

 

PM'd ya link with pics, yeah, i realize now more than ever the need to see screens in person.

yeah, thanks, i appreciate your reply. i figured my story should be shared, even for people who stick to the 900p, they should at least find the right color calibration.

 

I went with a 1080p screen and I'm happy, I was nervous about it purchasing sight unseen since I tend to need lower resolutions so I don't get eye strain staring at text all day, my previous two laptops were both 15" 1280x800, and my desktop I decided to go 30" 2560x1600 instead of 27" 2560x1440. One thing I was worried about is Dell runs it at 125% DPI for readability (you can lower it back) and I've seen issues with that breaking some poorly written apps in the past, but the text size is perfect for me and I haven't seen any layout issues due to the larger DPI. I prefer matte as well, not sure which is better but my Ultrasharp U3011 is a wide-gamut IPS screen with photo work in mind and it's also not gloss, most high-end IPS screens tend not to be.

 

To those that've attempted the 1080p upgrade, what is the difference between the LGD02DA LP173WF1(TL)(B3) and other available LCD's?

For example, in the 17R SE reviews thread, a few folks have upgraded to the B173HW01 V5 or B173HW01 V4.

My preference is for something more matte but still bright

 

What about the calibration of the new screen? You could calibrate it? Share .icc profile?

 

Finally bought a calibrator Spyder4Express and have calibrated screen of my laptop. The result was very pleased!